by M. Lorrox
Tiger smiles and looks around. “Aye, Remote SLOBs, they’ll sure make a mess out of things!”
Charlie slaps the table and snaps at Tiger, “In official meetings, you will show your professionalism at all times. Understood?”
“Aye, understood, sir.”
Charlie turns to the general. “I apologize, sir, but you do need to come up with a better name for those devices.”
After the general fields additional questions, he is excused from the meeting, and he leaves. When he’s gone, High Councilor and War and Defense Cabinet Chairman Vincent de Villablino takes the floor and addresses Charlie and the senior officers of the Guard. “This operation requires four vampire knights, and you five hold the highest positions within the Order. We believe it is in the Order’s best interest that the volunteer knights be of significant achievement and stature. This will help us build a strong and successful alliance with the United States government, and it will aid us in public relations activities.”
Vincent scans the guards, one by one. “You five are all highly qualified for this mission. Sadly, we only have four openings—”
Charlie raises his hand.
“Yes, Colonel Costanza?”
“I volunteer to let the others take this honor, sir.”
Vincent closes his eyes and sighs. “I was saying, that one of you will not be able to take part in this mission. That person will oversee the junior guardsmen and will assume the duties of the volunteers until they return.” He glances at Charlie and then away. “The High Council hopes that Colonel Costanza will volunteer for this operation, because his skillset will be most ideal for the mission.”
Charlie raises his hand again.
Vincent looks at him, blinks, then motions for him to speak.
“I’ve been thinking about volunteering for this operation. I feel like my skillset might be ideal for it, but I was wondering: if I were to be involved in this partnership-building role and this public relations aspect becomes important, I could imagine that being in such a role would take up a lot of time. I wonder if the High Council would consider granting a leave from active duty for the volunteers? For a specified number of years, of course, while these new and crucial, no, vitally important public relations activities take place.”
Vincent rolls his eyes. “You’ve been back on duty for what, two days, and you want another reprieve?”
Charlie puts on a face of insult. “Perhaps I misunderstood the importance of having high-ranking vampire knights in this operation. Maybe you instead need some of the younger and ready-to-prove-themselves knights—the ones that no one has ever heard of. I’m sure they’d love to make a name for themselves.”
Vincent clears his throat, but Mary cuts him off. “Colonel Costanza, perhaps you are correct in that the volunteering knights might need to be reassigned to non-combat roles, for as long as those roles are necessary. Is that what you are suggesting?”
He nods. “Or for a certain number of years away from a combat role. Ten has a nice round-numberness to it.” Minnie would be into her later teens by then, and I could go back to active duty, if I had to.
Mary frowns. “That will require discussion and approval by the Council. I support this contingency, but only after the joint military operations are completed.”
He glances to Sadie, who looks wary, then over to Mary. “Did the military hint at how many joint operations they might want to carry out?”
“No, but we can make assumptions. They presented a map with twenty-four locations marked.”
Charlie sighs and looks at the vampire guards to his sides. Twelve missions for each team. That’s a lot to ask...
Schermer raises her hand, and Mary motions for her to speak.
“Councilor Wollstone, I can volunteer for one, or a few missions, but volunteering for twelve with such little information is unreasonable. Perhaps volunteers should just be considered for this mission, and then later when other operations are planned, they could be presented to us again.”
Mary glances around to other members of the High Council. She catches Councilman Robert Flaxman’s eye, and he clears his throat. “Major Schermer, we appreciate your willingness to aid us in this time of need, but you must remember your place; you will not place demands upon this Council!”
Charlie stands. “Permission to speak, sir.”
Robert allows a grin to creep onto his mouth. “Granted.”
“I will volunteer for Operation Sidewinder, and if more is asked of me later—” he smiles at Robert, “—then it will have to be asked of me, later. These senior officers and I have a duty as guardsmen to protect not only the Council, but all elders, and this military operation clearly falls outside the jurisdiction of that commission.” He looks to the prime minister. “With your permission sir, I’d like to personally assemble the teams for this operation and begin preparation.”
Hamid smiles. “Thank you for volunteering Colonel Costanza; this contribution will not be forgotten. Please do go ahead and prepare the teams, and do so with haste—Operation Sidewinder leaves tomorrow at o-six-hundred hours, and the teams will be briefed on mission specifics tonight at eighteen-hundred hours.”
Charlie groans on the inside, but he smiles. “Understood. Permission to be dismissed sir?”
“Granted. Knights—”
They all stand up beside Charlie and snap into attention.
“Dismissed.”
Sadie watches them leave, and she watches the embers of disgust growing into a blaze of anger inside High Councilor Flaxman. She extends her hand and takes Charlie’s as he walks by, then hides her smile by returning to her notes. Robert’s going to blow a gasket… I wish I had popcorn!
Skip works with Minnie on her lessons and rubs his eyes. June is taking a shower to try and wake up or to get sleepy; either one would work for her. Eddy sits at the table near the kitchen and drafts a note on his laptop.
Mr. Bernardi,
My name is Eddy Costanza. I heard this old legend about the Cardinal’s Vengeance. I’d like to learn more about the legend and the jewelry. My family is in DC for the House of Elders meetings. Might you have a few minutes to chat over the next few days? I have a very flexible schedule.
Sincerely,
Eddy
He searches for Lorenzo’s username on the Infinite Vampire portal site, and when he finds it, he sends the note in a private message. Then, Eddy clicks back to the forums where conspiracy theorists and speculators discuss wild possibilities about the cursed artifacts.
June walks into the living room after her shower, dressed but still wet, and Eddy tries his hardest not to look.
She frowns as she walks over to her dad and Minnie. “Dad, I was thinking about going to this bookstore I saw in the mall. What do you think? Would you want to come?”
Skip shakes his head without looking up. “I can’t. I’ve got Minnie all day.”
“Mmm.” June spots Eddy and walks over. “What about you, Eddy, want to check out a bookstore?”
He glances up at her wet face. Her eyes are red and a bit sunken, and her cheeks look pale. “Are you feeling alright?”
She walks past him to the kitchen. “I’m tired; didn’t sleep. I guess yesterday’s adrenaline is finally wearing off. Bookstore?”
He turns toward her and smiles, but he notices the fabric of her shorts clinging to her legs, so he returns his attention to the laptop. “Maybe, yeah.”
She takes some blood out of the fridge. “Want any?”
He shakes his head without looking up. She pours a glass, leans back against the counter, and drinks it slowly. “Oh, this is so good. It’s like my body needs it so badly that my brain makes it taste amazing...like that burrito!”
Eddy laughs. “Sky might be pretty far out there, and Jambavan a little stiff, but they sure were right about that joint.”
“It was fun.” She takes another sip, watching her dad laugh with Minnie. Her lip curls. “Have a good night, Dad?”
He smiles and gla
nces up, but he doesn’t make eye contact. “Yeah, it was a good night.” He goes back to the workbook with Minnie.
“Have fun?”
He doesn’t look up. “Uh-huh.”
“How’s Katlyn?”
“She’s good, I like her… She’s very nice.”
“How nice was she, DAD?”
Eddy drops his head lower behind his laptop.
Skip huffs. “What?”
June shrugs. “Nothing, you said she was nice. I’m just curious if she was regular nice, or super nice, or if she was nice-and-naughty and—”
“June! That is quite enough, young lady!”
Eddy doesn’t dare move, but if he had the ability to vanish into thin air, he would.
June takes a sip of her drink. “Just trying to make conversation.”
“What’s gotten into you? You’re being very inappropriate.”
“Nothing’s gotten into me…Dad.”
Skip snaps his arm out and points to the bedroom. “June! Get in there, I want to talk to you in private.”
She glances at the back of Eddy’s head, then she looks at her dad and sighs.
“Now, young lady.”
She slams the glass down and hurries into the bedroom they’re sharing.
Skip follows her. “Eddy, watch your sister.”
Eddy nods, and as soon as Skip walks into the bedroom and shuts the door, Eddy rushes to Minnie. “It’s okay, they are just having an argument. C’mon, let’s go into our room.”
June sits on her bed, smoldering while watching her dad pace back and forth. She shivers, and her pulse quickens.
He runs both his hands through his hair. “What was that all about?”
She feigns nonchalance. “Just making conversation.”
“You shouldn’t talk about me and Katlyn that way. I am your father, and also an adult.”
“So, you can just do whatever you want then, huh? And what about me? Do I even matt—”
“You’re fourteen, June!”
She tosses a hand out to her side. “Are you even listening to me or are you still in bed with Katlyn?”
“June, we are not having this conversation right now.”
She scoffs. “Wow, Dad… You know, they teach us all about sex in school, and they say talking about it is okay, but it seems you must have a problem with it.”
“What? …June, you’re too young.”
She snickers. “Too young to talk about it? Ha! Get with the times, Dad. There’s so much sex everywhere on TV, in movies, and on the internet that it’s ridiculous.”
He stops and turns to her, eyes wide like a deer staring into headlights. “WHAT?”
“What?”
“That’s it. You’re... You’re...” He looks around the room and sees her phone charging on the dresser. He grabs it. “You won’t be needing this for a while.”
She jumps up. “WHAT?”
He unplugs the phone. “Apparently, I need to be monitoring what you’re up to a lot more closely.”
She shakes her head. “Amazing.”
He mimics her. “What’s amazing?”
She stamps her foot and points at him. “I can’t believe you. I was up all night worrying, you don’t come back until five am, you didn’t tell me anything about where you were, or if you were okay, or good night, or anything, and you smell like...” She gags. “Never mind.” She rushes toward the bathroom with a tear running down her cheek.
Skip moves to block her path. “Hold on, June. I smell like something?”
She stops and stares at the ground, then looks at him with wet eyes. “Like alcohol and sweat, and...woman.”
He sighs and places a hand on her shoulder. “June, you know I don’t drink much anymore, but last night I did have a couple glasses of wine. And I guess you smelled Katlyn. She and I are growing close.”
She snickers. “And you lecture me about being open about sex when you smell so, so…” She starts sobbing. “Filthy.”
Oh, June. “Listen, I’m sorry it bothered you. I guess I don’t understand just how strong your senses are right now. And I’m sorry I disappeared last night; I got swept up in the romance with her.”
June wipes her eyes and swats at his chest. “You stink! I smell her—it’s awful—it’s all around you! I can’t not smell it! It’s everywhere since you came back!”
I showered... “You can still smell her?”
She holds her face and sits on the bed. “I don’t know. I see it and smell it, if I look at you, it’s like I can taste it... I don’t know! Just leave me alone.” She scoots away from him.
Skip moves to sit on the bed beside her, but stops. “Would it help if I took another shower?”
How the fuck should I know! She sobs into her hands. I don’t even know what’s wrong with me.
Skip sighs. “June, I’m sorry I blew up at you, and I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m sorry I wasn’t thoughtful enough for you last night. But that doesn’t change the fact that you need to be more respectful. You can always just talk to me if something’s bothering you; you don’t need to be passive aggressive about it.”
She drops her hands but doesn’t wipe the streams of tears from her face. “Dad, there’s something wrong with me. It’s like sometimes I feel okay, and sometimes things just get crazy. Last night, during the night, I was so mad, and I couldn’t stop it. I feel out of control—I don’t know what to do.”
Skip chokes back his emotions. “Would it be okay if I came over to you?”
She nods.
He sits beside her and lets out a huge breath. Then his eyes flood. “I want you to know that I love you so much, and I would do anything for you.”
Between cries, she whispers, “I know. I love you too, Daddy.”
He sniffs. “I’ll take another shower.”
“Okay.”
He hesitates. “Can I say one more thing before I go?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“If you ever have sex questions, you can ask me... I don’t want you looking at porn on the internet.”
She groans, allows her torso to fall back against the bed, and wipes her eyes while facing the ceiling. “Just because I know it’s there doesn’t mean I’m looking at it.”
“Do you know why I don’t want you to?”
“Because I’m too young.”
“You are, but the main reason is that it skips the part about how it’s a special thing between consenting adults... I don’t think you should look at it until you understand more about what sex is—and isn’t—first.”
She sighs. “’Kay.”
He stands and walks toward the bathroom. “And you’re not eighty-one yet. Once you’re eighty-one, you can do whatever the hell you want.”
She closes her eyes and grits her teeth. “I’m not trying to have sex, Dad. I’m trying to not lose my mind.”
Skip swallows and dips his head. “June, I’m sorry… I’ll go take that shower.”
After his scalding shower, where he scrubbed halfway to raw, Skip dresses and finds June alone in the living room of the suite. “Where’s Eddy and Minnie?”
She motions with her head to the other bedroom. “Hiding.”
“Do I still smell bad?”
June looks at him. “You look really red, like you burned yourself. Are you alright?”
He nods. “Do I still smell?”
She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Dad, it was… I don’t even know.”
He walks over and touches her shoulder. “I don’t understand, but I’ll try as best I can to help.”
She holds his hand to her shoulder. “Thanks, Daddy. And I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He gives her shoulder a little squeeze, then hears Minnie giggle from the other bedroom. “Do you think I should let them out?”
June releases his hand and nods.
Skip walks over and knocks on the door. “You can come out now; it’s safe.”
The door opens, and Eddy pokes his head out. “You sure?”<
br />
Skip sits to put on a pair of socks. “Sorry if we got a little loud. June and I needed to talk.”
Eddy leads Minnie and sits with her on the couch. “Oh, it’s okay. We finished a set of problems and counted the trees we could see out the window.” He leans over to June and stage-whispers, “There’s a lot.”
Skip moves next to Minnie and picks up the lesson book. “Ready to learn some more about geography? Did I tell you it’s my favorite subject?”
Minnie sniffs and shakes her head. “It’s my fourth.”
Skip shakes his head with wonder. “What are your top three?”
“Art, Math, and Snack.”
Eddy chuckles. “Yup, that’s my sister.”
-Knock, knock-
Eddy walks over to the door and opens it. A bellman hands Eddy a bundle wrapped in a blanket. “Your dog, sir. Your father asked me to bring him up in the mornings.”
“I suppose it’s technically still the morning.” He takes the bundle and opens it. Rusty is asleep in the blanket. Eddy looks look up at the bellman and shows his confusion.
“A guest noticed him sleeping in the bushes against the side of the building.”
“Ha! Nice.”
“Please tell your father that I wish to speak with him.”
“Eh, okay. Will do. Thanks again.”
The bellman leaves, shutting the door behind him.
Skip coughs. “Everything alright with Rusty?”
“Yeah, he’s just tired. Must have had a wild night.” He carries the bundle into the bedroom and sets the blanket with Rusty curled-up inside in the corner, behind the chair near the window. Eddy walks out and shuts the door behind him, then he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket; he has a notification through the Infinite Vampire app. He swipes to the notifications and clicks on the banner. “Oh, June, I heard back from the Bernardi guy.”
Skip cocks an eyebrow.
Eddy notices. “He’s an artifacts expert. I wanted to ask him about some crazy legend.”
June stretches her feet out. “What’d he say?”
Eddy reads. “He wants to have lunch, today in Chinatown. He says he can meet me at the metro there.”
Skip frowns. “What do you know about this guy? Would it be safe to go and meet him?”